All app updates must support iPhone X screen, iOS 11 SDK

When developers update their apps, they must support the iPhone X screen and use the iOS 11 SDK, Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple just put its foot down about supporting its latest tech. Starting in July, every update submitted to the App Store must take full advantage of the iPhone X’s Super Retina display. They also must be built with the iOS 11 SDK.

Support for the unusually-shaped iPhone X screen has been happening gradually, but expect a rush in the coming weeks.

And that’s not mentioning that the iPhone X is Apple’s best-selling model (and the top-selling smartphone in the world). The millions of people buying this device expect their apps to take full advantage of the iPhone X screen.

iOS 11 SDK too

Apple also requires coders to use the latest Software Development Kit (SDK) to create every iOS app update.

The company spelled out the many advantages of the iOS 11 SDK: “Your apps can deliver more intelligent, unified, and immersive experiences with Core ML, ARKit, new camera APIs, new SiriKit domains, Apple Music integration, drag and drop for iPad, and more.”

On the other side of the coin, starting in July, developers of older applications won’t be able to just tweak them to add new features or fix bugs. They’ll have to fully update the app to support Apple’s latest technologies.

The company did something similar with Apple Watch recently, and some developers choose to pull down their apps rather than update them. Of course, Apple’s wearable is just starting to take off, something that can hardly be said about iPhone or iPad.